Machine for extracting fiber



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. DARKIN. MACHINE FOR BXTRAGTING FIBER.

No. 473,826. Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

WITNESSES r INVENTDR (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I. DARKIN. MACHINE FOR EXTRAGTING FIBER.

No. 473,826. P gmented Apr. 26,1892.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

P. DARKIN MACHINE FOR EXTRAGTING FIBER. v N0. 473,826. Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK DARKIN, OF PASSAIO, NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR EXTRACTING FlBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 473,826, dated April 26, 1892.

Application filed July 6, 1891. Serial No. 398,624. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK DARKIN, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of Passaic, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Extracting Fibers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus or machinery for separating the fibers of plants, more particularly of tropical varieties, as J cmquen, illaguey, and the like, from the pulpy matters; and it consists in the improved apparatus for presenting or feeding the leaves to the pulp separating, beating, scraping. or combing drum and controlling them while being dressed thereby, all as hereinafter full y described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my improved extracting-machine with some parts in vertical transverse section. Fig. 2 is aside elevation with some of the parts in vertical trans verse section and with some of the parts in modified form. Fig. 3 is also a side elevation with some of the parts in vertical transverse section and showing other modifications. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the machine as represented in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the machine as represented in Fig. 2. Fig. 0 is a detail in horizontal section on line :0 00, Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 7 is a detail in horizontal section on line y 'y,Fig. 2, also enlarged. Fig. 8 is a detail of Fig. 1 in vertical section on line 2 .2, Fig. 9; and Fig. 9 is a front elevation of the holding-clamp and feeding-table of Fig. 1, also on a larger scale.

The wheel or drum a, carrying the beating or scraping blades Z), or it may be hackling or combing pins, is mounted on a shaft 0, arranged in bearings cl or any approved supporting-bench e, and the shaft is provided with fast and loose pulleys f g for the drivingbelt. Over the upper part of the drum is a curb h for protection of the'drum and the at tendant, and under the lower front face of the drum is an apron '6, onto which the leaves are fed and whereon the fibers lie in the process of beating, scraping, or combing the pulpy matters away; but it is preferred to arrange said apron over the drum, as at 1, Figs. 3 and 4, when the machine is constructed for the use of the combing-pins I), said drum then being turned in the opposite direction. All these parts thus far generally described are old, and the heaters and the apron have long been used for separating fibers by presenting and holding the leaves and withdrawing the separated fibers by hand, and I do not claim them as of my invention, but will now proceed to point out and claim the improvements that I have invented and which I claim.

In the first place I have provided better means of slacking off the apron for facilitating the entering of the leaves between it and the heaters to begin with, as is required for each leaf, and for gradually closing it up again as the pulp is carried away, and have so mounted said apron that it may be adjusted readily, and in case of extra large leaves requiring more than the normal space between the apron and the blades it will yield automatically under the greater pressure, and thus avoid undue stress liable in some cases to break and scrape away some of the fibers. For so shifting the upper portion of the apron to'receive the leaves and then press them on the heaters, scrapers, or pins I mount it on the pivot-support j near the lower end, and near the upper end I provide it with the bearer is, having, as in Fig. 1, the inclined bottom Z, resting on the friction-roll m, carried in the free end of the short arm n of a rock-shaft 0, on which is a hand-lever p to work the shaft and swing arm n forward and a weighted arm n to swing it backward urr der said inclined bottom of the bearer k, and thereby swing the said upper portion of the apron toward and allow'it to fall away from the heaters, scrapers, or pins more or less, as required. The rocking arm a may of course be contrived for being actuated by any other means, as desired, or it may be dispensed with, and the bearer 7o may be pivoted at 7a with the links jointed at the other ends k to the feeding-stand, so that when it is swung back the apron will drop and will rise again when the standis shifted forward. Said links may be jointed directly to the apron instead of the bearer k, if desired.

The apron is made to rest on the bearer 7G by the temper-screw q, which is adj ustablein the lug s to alter the set of the upper portion of the apron as may be required by the wear of the plates 1) or by other cause, and for similarly adjusting the lower portion of the rock-shaft a, which has a long arm n, the

outer end of which is confined adjustably along the stud-screw w by the nuts or, whereby said lower portion of the apron is shifted toward or from the beaters, and the elastic washer y is interposed between the arm and the nut on the side subject to the thrusts of the apron for yielding to excessive thrusts of the heaters on the apron. For enabling the upper portion of the apron to similarly yield to said thrusts the bearer 7t is in Fig. 1 made in two jaws, which are pivoted to the apron at z, and an elastic cushion 2 is confined between them intermediate of the temper-screw q and the roll m, on which cushion such thrusts will be relieved to a considerable extent. In Fig. 2 the temper-screw extends through the bearer 7a to the lug 3 below and has the cushions 2 under its head above the bearer, which is a practically equivalent de- Vice.

In the second part of the invention 1 have provided improved means of feeding and holding the leaves to be treated and withdrawing them and reversing the partly-dressed leaves as follows: 3 representsa feeding, holding, and withdrawing stand, which is in this example mounted on the pivot 4: at the base and in front of the drum a and apron 2', so as to swing toward and from them. I prefer to pivot it as a simpler construction than a sliding table and because it will work easier, particularly when counterbalanced, as by a weight 5. Over the top of the stand. which is serrated or otherwise roughened at 6, is a correspondingly-roughened eccentric clamping-jaw 7, to which a lever-handle 8 is attached for lifting it to open to insert the leaves between it and the part 6', constituting the fixed jaw, and

pressing it down to grip and hold the leaves,

the grip being caused partly by the operator pressing on the lever and partly by the pull of the beaters or scrapers on the leaves, which tends to increase the grip. An apron 9, of leather, rubber, canvas, or other flexible material, is attached at one end to stand 3 below its top and extended toward the drum and downward over roll 10, over which the leaves enter between the apron 2' and scrapers and over guide-roll 11, both mounted in brackets 12, supported on the frame of the machine, from the latter of which rolls it hangs free, with a weight 13 attached to the lower end to keep it taut. The feeding-stand is swung back, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, and the lever-jaw 7 is opened to apply the leaves, which are inserted one or more at a time, preferably point forward, between the gripping-jaws and along the flexible apron over and beyond roll 10 and the upper end of the apron 'L', on which they are to be dressed and down which they are drawn over said roll 10 by the boaters or scrapers, until entered nearly the-whole length. The lever-jaw is then pressed down and the leaf or leaves gripped. near the butt end or ends for holding against the pull of the heaters and preventing the leaves being pulled through the jaws. The feeding-stand then swings forward by the further pull on the leaves or by the push of the attendant, or both, to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 for entering theleaves to be dressed the whole length within reach of the boaters, scrapers,

or pins, lever 19 being at the same time allowed to swing back bythe weighted arm to swing apron t' closer to the boaters or scrapers as the pulp is gradually scraped away, as arranged in Figs. 1 and 5; but it is the links 10 that so shift the apron in Figs. 2, 6, and 7.

The purpose of the flexible apron 9 is more particularly to hold up and enter the buttends of the partly dressed leaves when gripped by the dressed fibers for finishing the butts, as will be more fully explained farther on; but it also facilitates entering the ends of the leaves in the first place until they pass over the feeding-roll 10; but in the case of some leaves which are quite stiif and may be kept up by the attendant with a little care the said flexible apron may not be required. When the fibers have been sufficiently dressed, the stand is then pulled back by the attendant to withdraw the dressed portion of the fibers and the apron 4 is slacked off ready for another operation. The clamp-jaw 7 is then raised to release the grip on the leaf held by it, and the leaf is then drawn back a suitable distance to enable the portion of the butt not dressed to be swung back over the axis of the jaw at one side of said jaw and entered between the beaters and apron '1; to be dressed, the leaf being at the same time shifted la'terally from between jaws 6 7, so that the dressed portion of the fibers drawn back into the clamp will now be gripped between the end of another jaw 1a and the part 15 of the base or fixed jaw of the clamp, said part preferably having an elastic surface, against which the fibers are to be pressed, as a piece of soft rubber set in a recessin the jaw. The fibers thus drawn backward a suitable length are turned over the jaw-axis for entering the butt to be dressed, as above stated, and pull in the opposite direction to that of the pull in the first jaws. I-Ience jaws 14 and 15 are adapted to close on the fibers by raising levers and to resist the pull in said opposite direction. The lever 11 may be connected by a slack rope 18 with the feedin g'standorits support in such manner that just before the stand comes to rest when pulled back the rope will come taut and will pull the lever automatically for slacking off apron '0'.

When it is preferred to employ combing or hackling pins on the drum, as in Figs. 3 and 4, instead of the heaters or scrapers, the clam ping-jaws will preferably be mounted on a slideway, as 17, so that they may be shifted to and fro laterally a few times quickly while the leaves are being dressed to more fibers, and the apron 2" will preferably be extended upward instead of downward from the part where the leaves enter, the drum being turned the reverse way; but the leaves 5 may be combed downward, if preferred. This apron 'iis adjust-able relatively to the combing-pins by the adjusting and holdingdown bolts 19.

To facilitate the entry of the stiff leaves, and particularly the butt-ends, in the upward direction to the combing-pins, the apron i has an upwardly-flared opening t in the front end, through which the stiff leaves enter in a straight line, or thereabout, after which they I5 are shifted laterally under the more clownwardly-projecting part i which holds the leaves down to the pins more closely.

It is obvious that inasmuch as the jaws 7 and 14 work alternately and in opposite di rections they may be in the same planethat is, one behind the other-instead of being placed apart laterally or in different planes, which will obviate shifting the partly'dressed fibers laterally, as they can be swung directly over jaw '7 just about as well, and I do not limit myself to the particular arrangement shown in the drawings.

I claim- 1. In a fiber-extracting machine, the com- 3o bination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, of the pivotedfeedin stand and holding-clamp located in front of and movable toward and from said drum, substan- 5 tialiy as described. ra 2. In,a tiber-extracting machine, the com- 'binati'dn, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, of the pivoted feeding-stand and o holding-clamp located in front of and movable toward and from said drum and the roll over which the leaves enter between the beaters and the said apron, substantially as described.

3. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, having pivotal support of one end, of the feeding-stand located in front of and movable toward and from the drum, and

connections between said apron and feedingstand, whereby the end of the apron may be adjusted by the movement of the feedingstand, substantially as described.

4. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, having pivotalsupport of one end, of the feeding-stand located in front of and 6a movable toward and from the drum, and adjusting-supports for one end of the apron, and connections between said supports and feeding-stand, whereby the end of the apron may be adjusted by the movement of the feeding- 6 5 stand, substantially as described. 5. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, of the feeding-stand and holdingclamp located in front of and movable toward and from said drum, the roll over which the leaves enter between said drum and said apron, and the flexible feeding-apron attached to said stand and movable forward and backward over said roll in unison with the movements of the feeding-stand, substantially as described. I

6.- In a fiber-extracting machine, the com bination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, of the pivoted feeding-stand and holding-clamp located in front of and movable toward and from said drum, the roll over which the leaves enter between the beater and said apron, the weighted feeding flexible apron working over said roll in unison with the movements of the feeding-stand, and the guide-roll for the said flexible apron below the feed-roll, substantially as described.

7. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum, the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, and the feeding-stand, of a duplex holding and gripping clamp, one pair of the jaws being adapted for holding the leaves by an undressed portion and the other part for holding by the dressed fibers, substantially as described.

8. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum, the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, and the feeding-stand, of a duplex gripping and holding clamp, one pair of the jaws being adapted for holding the leaves by an undressed portion against the pull directly toward the drum and the other pair adapted to hold by a dressed portion of the fiber and against the pull in the reverse direction and over the axis of the movable jaws, substantially as described.

9. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum. and the feeding-stand, of a duplex gripping and holding clamp, one pair of the jaws adapted to hold the leaves by an undressed portion and the other pair adapted to hold by a dressed portion of the fibers, and said clamp mounted on a slideway for shifting laterally in front of the drum, substantially as described.

10. In a fiber-extracting machine, the combination, with the beating, scraping, or combing drum and the feeding-stand, of the apron whereon the fibers are dressed, having the fiared opening in the end for the entry of the butt-ends of the leaves, substantially as described.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 20th day of June, A. D. 1891.

FRANK DARKIN. lVitnesses:

WV. B. EARLL, W. J. ll/IORG-AN. 

